NEWSLETTER

The objective of the meeting was to inform the general lines of work, since the drafting of the intervention project is being finalised. After its completion, it will be sent to each of the city councils of the Via de la Plata—more than thirty in the provinces of Ourense, Pontevedra and A Coruña—in order to take into account their possible observations.

This gives continuity to the initiatives developed during this time in the hostels of A Bandeira (Silleda), A Gudiña, Faramello (Teo), Cea, Xinzo de Limia, Riós, Verín, Vilar de Barrio, Vedra or Sandiás. Likewise, the first edition of the Galicia Parabens award also went to the Vía de la Plata, recognising the beautification works promoted by the City Council of Boqueixón around the Pico Sacro, one of the symbolic references of the Jacobean pilgrimage.

Along these lines, it is planned the imminent intervention in the hostel of Bendoiro, in Lalín, whose repair was contracted for an amount in excess of 250,000 euros. This investment will make it possible to work on the illnesses that it has been dragging and that caused special deterioration in different parts of the structure, roofs, carpentries, façades and terraces.

It is also planned to prepare or build a hostel along the Via de la Plata to meet the needs of pilgrims on horseback, one of the options for getting to Compostela. In this regard, it should be borne in mind that, since the approval of the Master Plan for the Camino de Santiago, the Government of Galicia has been working on the specialisation of the Via de la Plata as an itinerary preferably specialised in this modality.

In recent years, the Vía de la Plata has had a constant influx of pilgrims that has led it to exceed 9,000, with a significant growth margin ahead. 60% of them are Spanish, although other nationalities also stand out, such as Portuguese, Germans, Italians, French, Americans, British, Dutch and Belgians.

Currently, the network of public hostels dependent on the Regional Ministry of Culture and Tourism has 13 hostels and more than 400 bed-places. In recent years, the S. A. de Xestión del Plan Xacobeo has taken on the direct management of some of them, which were ceded by the city councils.

The actions planned on the Vía de la Plata for 2019 extend the scope of those already carried out on the Camino Francés in 2015, on the Camino del Norte and the Camino Primitivo in 2016, on the Camino Inglés and on the Camino de Fisterra y Muxía in 2017 and on the Camino Portugués and on the Camino Portugués de la Costa in 2018. The programme will be completed in 2020, in time for Xacobeo 21, with works on the Camino de Invierno and the Mar de Arousa and Río Ulla Route.

For the first time, our Autonomous Community had the opportunity to present to the French Jacobean associative movement the Galician management model around the Camino de Santiago, with a lecture by the director-manager of the Xacobeo, Rafael Sánchez, who attended on behalf of the Department of Culture and Tourism.

He presented to nearly 200 people, including representatives of associations from Spain, Belgium, England and Germany, the model of accommodation implemented in Galicia through the Public Network of Hostels of Xacobeo, as well as the role of associationism in the Galician road map, which is supported with a specific line of aid to promote their activities. He also delved into the work carried out for the maintenance of all the routes and the work of dissemination and outreach with a view to Xacobeo 2021.

First Jacobean association

The presence of Galicia in this meeting is included in the commitment of the Regional Government to strengthen ties with the Jacobean associationism, one of the objectives of the Master Plan of the Camino de Santiago. This also highlights France’s historical role in the development of the Jacobean phenomenon in Europe, as it has been one of the main driving forces behind the reactivation of the Camino de Santiago since the 1950s, when the first Jacobean association was created in Paris, the Société Française des Amis de St. Jacques de Compostelle.

With just over a fortnight to tackle this ancient path, actor Neil Morrissey, entertainer Debbie McGee, comedian Ed Byrne, singer Heather Small, priest Kate Bottley, journalist Raphael Rowe and TV presenter JJ Chalmers hike through France and northern Spain to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.

The group – made up of a variety of faiths and beliefs, including Christian, atheist and humanist – will live as simple pilgrims. But will this journey of a lifetime change the way they think about themselves and their faith?

As they move along the route through vast mountain ranges and stunning landscapes in France and Spain, the group explores their differing religious beliefs, bond over the physical task and find humour when they realise what living like a simple pilgrim entails.

Pictured: Kate Bottley, Raphael Rowe, Neil Morrissey, JJ Chalmers, Ed Byrne, Debbie McGee and Heather Small

First episode: Friday 16 March. 9.00pm-10.00pm. BBC TWO

Source and image: ©BBC

He was born in in 1956 in the Prefecture of Nara, in Japan and in 1988 he presented his first exhibition The Land of Sherpa with photographs hich he took in Serpa, in the Himalayas.

Later he travelled all over the world taking images of Japanese, Romanic and Byzantine art, as well as Buddhist ruins and Chinese cave paintings, the Borobudur, Angkor and Ajanta. These were joined together under the heading Spaces for prayer, forms of prayer in photographic exhibitions and publications.

This exhibition was inaugurated in Paris in 2008 where the artist expressly referred expressly to Vilar de Donas, declaring the deep impression they had caused. Subsequently, he travelled to Wakayama (Japan), to Tokyo, where he exhibited for three months in the Aida Museum, to México D.F. and to Santiago de Compostela.

In 2010, the S.A. de Xestión do Plan Xacobeo, programmed its routes through Galicia, passing through several Town Halls of the Camino de Santiago such as Palas de Rei, Redondela, Dumbría, Bertamiráns, Muxía and Fisterra, showing his view of the experience which the pilgrimage produced in this Japanese photographer. In 2011, thanks to the collaboration of the Spanish Consulate in Hamburg, he exhibited in several cities of Germany, Lübeck, Hamburg, Hannover, Buxtehude and Kiel, with great success among the public and continued his travels in 2012 inaugurating in Regensburg. He then travelled to Malaga and Castuera, and has now arrived in Valencia in collaboration with the Association of Friends of the Camino de Santiago of the Community of Valencia.

Place: San Esteban Chapel
Address: Santa Margarita, nº 2. Astorga (León)

Dates: 7-29 December, 2017
Timetable of visits: from Monday to Friday from 5:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays: from 12:00 to 14:00 h.

Organised by: S.A de Xestión do Plan Xacobeo. Turismo de Galicia. Xunta de Galicia
Collaborators: Association of Friends of the Camino de Santiago de Astorga and Astorga Town Hall

The title of the show is a reference to the sea of the Atlantic routes which open the exhibition, the sea of the Portuguese and Galician coasts that is so strongly linked to the Portuguese pilgrimage routes to Santiago. And it ends with the open ocean along the Costa da Morte, the physical and symbolic finishing point of the route to Fisterra and Muxía, after reaching Compostela.

Location: Lonja de Fisterra
Address: Rúa Fonte Vella 11. Fisterra. A Coruña

Dates: 5–22 December 2017
Hours: Monday–Friday, 4.30–7.00 p.m.

Organized by: Turismo de Galicia. Xunta de Galicia
In partnership with: Nuestra Señora de las Arenas Fishermen’s Guild of Fisterra

The award ceremony, held at the House of European History, was presided over by Antonio Tajani, President of the European Parliament, on what was a symbolic day for the Way of St. James, coinciding as it did with the end of the commemorative programme for the 30th anniversary of its declaration as the First European Cultural Route. Over the last few months, various initiatives have been run to celebrate this anniversary and reflect on its integrating values.

Rafael Sánchez, head of S. A. de Xestión do Plan Xacobeo, collected the award together with Almudena Hospido, Vice-Rector for Internationalisation at the University of Santiago de Compostela, and Tomás Gómez-Acebo, Vice-Rector for Students at the University of Navarra.

The Aquí-Europa Vocento Awards seek to promote and recognise commendable actions aligned with the ideology and spirit of the European Union and that promote the unity and integration of the continental project. The Way of St. James has obtained this distinction as a cultural initiative. In addition, other awards were given in the fields of institution/personality, company, communicator and country.

The Way of St. James and Pilgrimages Department of the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC), in collaboration with the Compostela Group of Universities, is organizing an international seminar titled The Way of St. James and Europe, to be held 23–25 October. The event is part of the activities programme created by the Xunta de Galicia to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Santiago de Compostela Declaration, which designated the Way of St. James as the first European Cultural Route.

This seminar, interdisciplinary and international, is addressed to all those interested in the Camino de Santiago and Europe.

The event will comprise three days of lectures and debates discussing legal, social and cultural aspects of the Way of St. James and Europe.

The seminar is being organized under the direction of Dr. Domingo Luis González Lopo, director of the Way of St. James and Pilgrimages Department at the USC, and Dr. María Teresa Carballeira Rivera, executive secretary of the Compostela Group of Universities.

The seminar’s scientific committee is made up of:

• Dr. Adeline Rucquoi. Co-director of the Way of St. James and Pilgrimages Department.
• Dr. Segundo López. Co-director of the Way of St. James and Pilgrimages Department.
• Dr. Marek Kręglewski. President of the Compostela Group of Universities.
• Miguel Vázquez Taín. Professor of art history at the USC.
• Marta Cendón. Associate professor of art history at the USC.

Free registration

Grant application period open until 10 October.

MORE INFORMATION

A shared area of universal values
Hospitality, the welcoming of the pilgrim is a value which for centuries has been considered the cornerstone of the Camino de Santiago. A form of spirituality poetically depicted in the photographs which Manuel G. Vicente took along the Camino, on the route and in hostels during recent decades. The heart-warming welcome is fused with the experience of the encounter, solidarity, friendship and mutual understanding. Added to this are the values of the landscapes, the shared history and culture.

An experience of communication and affection
As the days pass, communication at several levels occurs on the Camino. In the first place, the pilgrim communicates with himself, the interior language is essential in the pilgrimage experience. Introspection leads to reflexive, personalised self-construction, in which each person recreates his experiences through memory and affection.

In the second place, communication is established with the Camino itself and, finally, with the companions on the route, with the “hospitaleros” and the local people. The mental or spiritual space of the Camino de Santiago, evoked and recreated, is shaped through the affectivity of the person experiencing it; towns, cities, historical places and natural landscapes assume affective values in this spontaneous construction. A sensitive framework in which fertile communication takes place among the pilgrims, their natural environment and other persons.

Venue: Faculty of Geography and History
Addresse: San Fernando nº 4. Seville

Dates: 3 October – 28 October, 2017
Timetable: from Monday to Friday, 9:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. Saturday, 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Organiser: S.A. de Xestión do Plan Xacobeo. Turismo de Galicia. Xunta de Galicia
Collaborators: Asociación de Amigos del Camino de Santiago Vía de la Plata de Sevilla and Faculty of Geography and History.

Organized by: International Committee of Experts on the Way of St. James and Turismo de Galicia
Director: Paolo Caucci von Saucken, chairman of the International Committee of Experts on the Way of St. James

Aim
The aim of the 10th International Congress on Jacobean Studies is to thoroughly explore the most significant aspects of the patronage of St James. From this perspective, it will analyse the characteristics of the Apostle as the patron saint and protector of nations, cities, hospitaller orders, military orders, confraternities and churches. There will be a special focus on investigating the spiritual, iconographic, symbolic, political and historical aspects of a relationship which has had a profound impact on the culture and mindset of many peoples in Spain and the Americas.

Audience
Students, teachers, scholars of Jacobean culture, members of Friends of the Way of St. James associations and other interested persons.

Registration
Free registration. Space is limited.
Registration period: 12 September 2017 to 3 November 2017
Registration form: https://goo.gl/NZ1Gc5

Grants
The Xunta de Galicia, in partnership with the Way of St. James and Pilgrimages Department of the University of Santiago, is offering two grants for researchers to cover lodging expenses for the duration of the conference.

Accommodation
Students, the unemployed and members of Friends of the Way of St. James associations will be entitled to free lodging at the San Lázaro pilgrim hostel, located in Santiago de Compostela, during the conference.
Those interested in requesting free accommodation will be required to provide proof of their status as a student, unemployed person or member of a Friends of the Way of St. James association when submitting their registration.

Information and contact details
S.A. de Xestión do Plan Xacobeo
Área de Cultura Xacobea
Tel.: 881 996 265
Cultura.xacobea@xacobeo.org

Image: Codex Calixtinus of the University of Salamanca (©Universidad de Salamanca)

PROGRAM

Thursday, 9 November
4.30 Official Opening
5.00 Opening lecture: Santiago patrón de Compostela [Fernando López Alsina, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Spain]
5.45 Santiago patrón de las Españas [Paolo Caucci von Saucken, Università degli Studi di Perugia, Italy]
6.30 Break
6.45 Santiago y la Monarquía francesa [Adeline Rucquoi, CNRS, France]
7.30 Santiago y la identidad del Portugal medieval [Paulo Almeida Fernandes, Universidades de Coimbra e Porto, Portugal]
8.30 Welcome Reception

Friday, 10 November
09.30 Santiago patrón de la Orden de Santiago [Hugo O’Donnell y Duque de Estrada, Real Academia de la Historia, Spain]
10.15 Representaciones escultóricas de Santiago en iglesias medievales portuguesas. Patronazgo y modelo de virtudes en la construcción de imágenes de caballeros [Carla Varela Fernandes, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal]
11.00 Coffee break
11.30 La colegiata de Santiago de Coimbra [Maria José Azevedo Santos, Universidade de Coimbra, Portugal]
12.15 El apóstol Santiago patrón de las Españas. Iconografía de la Ofrenda Real en la Catedral de Santiago [Miguel Taín Guzmán, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Spain]
13.00 Round table
13.45 Break
04.00 Il patronato di San Giacomo sul mare [Rosanna Bianco, Università degli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro, Italy]
04.45 San Giacomo patrono di hospitales: San Giacomo al Colosseo. La decorazione pittorica di un ospedale del Trecento a Roma [Philine Helas, Bibliotheca Hertziana Roma, Germany]
5.30 Break
6.00 Fasti, nefasti e metamorfosi del culto e del patronato di San Giacomo in Sicilia: Capizzi, Messina, Caltagirone [Giuseppe Arlotta, Centro Italiano di Studi Compostellani, Italy]
6.45 Idea y concepto de Patronato [Francisco Puy Muñoz, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Spain]

Saturday, 11 November
10.00 Santiago patrón de Filipinas y de las Indias orientales [Anna Sulai Capponi, Università degli Studi di Perugia, Italy]
10.45 Santiago y el virrreinato de Nueva España [Antonio Casasola, Instituto Teológico Pío XII, San Sebastián, Spain]
11.30 Coffee break
12.00 Santiago patrón de Santiago de Cuba [Jorge Catasús Fernández, Archidiócesis de Santiago de Cuba, Cuba]
12.45 Santiago patrón de Santiago de Chile [Eduardo Andrades Rivas, Universidad del Desarrollo, Chile]
13.30 Break
4.00 Patronazgo, espiritualidad y religiosidad en las órdenes militares de la península ibérica
[Klaus Herbers, Universität Erlangen, Germany]
4.45 Espiritualidad y sentido del patronato de Santiago [Piotr Roszak, Uniwersytetu Mikołaja Kopernika, Poland]
5.30 Break
6.00 Formazione e caratteri del patronato di Santiago a Pistoia [Lucia Gai, Comitato san Jacopo, Pistoia, Italia)
6. 30 Santiago patrón de cofradías actuales [Segundo Pérez López, dean, SAMI Catedral de Santiago de Compostela, Spain]
7.15 Official Closing.